EMBROIDERED SILK POSTCARDS FROM

THE EARLY PERIOD (1899 – 1914)

PART 2

EARLY CARDS WITH A FRAME

In my book, An Illustrated History of the Embroidered Silk Postcard, I stated that the first embroidered silk postcards appeared at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. This statement seemed to be correct at the time, but I now know it to be incorrect. A series of earlier cards were introduced by a company called Gebruder Schmidt of Vienna, Austria in 1899. These cards and other early embroidered silk postcards were made without a frame around the embroidered panel. They form Part 1 of the articles on my research into Early Embroidered Silk Postcards and have a full page dedicated to them: Early Cards Without a Frame.

A separate page is dedicated to another type of early postcards, those made with an appliquéd embroidered silk motif: Early Cards With an Embroidered Motif.

The full listing of all the early embroidered silk postcards can be found here: Early (Pre-1914) Cards.

This page describes the earliest embroidered silk postcards known where the embroidered silk panel is surrounded by a card frame, and the panel is stuck between the frame and a backing card that covers the reverse of the embroidery and is printed with the postage details.

In the early days of embroidered silk postcards, many publishers were experimenting with the use of embroidery on postcards. This led to an array of different shapes and styles of frames, and card layouts. The frame may be plain, embellished with a printed design or embossed with a design, or a combination of these.

During the time of undivided back postcards, the embroidered panel had to be small enough to leave space for the message on the right-hand side of the card, the convention of the period. In about 1905, the postal regulations changed and address side was allowed to carry the message. From then on, the embroidery increased in size until it covered the front of the postcard, to result in the definitive format of embroidered silk postcards: an embroidered silk panel surrounded by a frame about 15 mm. wide.

I would like to thank the contribution of the collectors and experts in early embroidered silk postcards: Bengt Adickes of Goteborg in Sweden and Chris Farrington of Northern Ireland. They provided invaluable information on the postcards and images. If there are any collectors reading this who have more information on any early embroidered silk postcard not listed, please contact the author, Ian Collins, on gabrian@btinternet.com.

Information and images on this site are © Ian Collins 2021.

No part may be reproduced, stored, transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the author.

CARDS WITH DIAMOND SHAPED FRAMES

The earliest known embroidered silk postcards with a frame use a diamond shape to enclose the embroidered silk panel, and several publishers of these are known during the period of 1902 to 1909. After this date, cards with a diamond shaped frame ceased production, so the designs were short-lived. At least 35 differently designed postcards with diamond shaped frames have been identified, with both undivided and divided backs. The rectangular frame became the standard before 1908 and replaced all other shaped frames.

The publishers of these cards were clustered close together in towns in south Bavaria, west Austria, and north Switzerland, an important area in the development of early embroidered silk postcards. Similarities in the embroidered designs indicate that some of them used silk panels from the same source. There are also other cards from unknown publishers. None of the publishers seem to have continued with production of embroidered silk postcards once the diamond shape frame died out.

These embroidered silk postcards are extremely rare, and it appears that few were produced. The publishers may also have been issuing normal picture postcards at the time, but I have been unable to find any evidence for this. There is no information on any of them on internet sites.

Ulrich Egli, Butschwil, Switzerland

The earliest diamond shaped frame card seen was issued by Ulrich Egli of Butschwil in Switzerland. It is dated 10th June 1902, and the name and address of the publisher is clearly printed on the front. Butschwil is about 30 miles west of Lake Constance and 10 miles east of Zurich in Switzerland. The embroidery has the Turnfest logo of four connected capital Fs in the shape of a cross, which represent the motto of the Gymnastic Movement and stand for: Frisch, From, Froh, Frei (Fresh, Religious, Happy, Free). It was issued to commemorate an (unknown) festival of gymnastics in Uzwil and is shown below.

The other cards published by Ulrich Egli were for general use with "Gruss aus ......" printed at the top right, so that the sender could add the place from which it was sent. The card below with the Swiss shield inside a wreath of Alpine flowers is the earliest of those known and was sent on 16th October 1902.

Another card from this publisher has a unique L-shaped frame, which has not been seen on any other card. This is a clear illustration of how publishers were experimenting with the shape of the frame, all to accommodate the message on the front of the card. It is postmarked 8th November 1902, only 23 days after the diamond shape card, but the address is Dietfurt, Bavaria. It possible that the Ulrich Egli had offices in both towns.

Three other cards with a diamond shaped frame are known that can be ascribed to Ulrich Egli of Dietfurt. They have the initials U.E.D. printed on the front at the bottom left of the frame. The one shown below has an embroidered panel of the canton shield of St. Gallen in Switzerland, a centre of silk embroidery manufacture, from where the silk panels may have been sourced. The second has a simple edelweiss design with foliage, and is dated 10th November 1901, preceding the cards from Butschwil. The other is later and has a Swiss chalet by a river in a mountain scene.

J.A. Ott, Rothis, Voralberg, Switzerland

Voralberg is an state in the northwest of Austria that borders Germany and Switzerland - the area that was the early centre for the manufacture of embroidery. Two cards are known with the full name printed at the bottom left. The other embroidered silk postcards seen in the series have the initials J.A.O. printed in approximately the same place. The dated cards are mainly between December 1903 and 1909, so it appears they were only in production for short period. (There is one from 1918, but this must have been old stock as there is nothing similar.) The majority of the cards have a "sharks fin" design printed in green/blue around the embroidered panel, an undivided back and "Post-Karte" printed on the reverse. They are printed “Gruss aus......” on the front with the dotted line to write in the name of a place or person, so they could be sent (and sold) in any area, and indicating that they were aimed at the German speaking market. Cards sent from Paris have been seen, so the cards were also on sale in France.

F. Jocham, Ludwigstrasse 11, Lindau, Bavaria

Lindau is a Bavarian town and an island on the eastern side of Lake Constance, known as Bodensee in Germany, close to both Switzerland and Austria. This publisher’s name has only ever been seen on diamond shaped frame postcards and seven of them are known. All the dated cards seen are from 1904 and 1905, so they were not in production for long. The company describes itself as a "versandgeschäft" which translates as a shipping business. One card gives the address as Rorschach, which is in the St. Gallen Canton, Switzerland, so they may have had offices in both countries.

The silk panels in all the cards are edged with an art nouveau border in either green or red, with slightly different designs for each colour. "Postkarte" is printed on the address side in the same colour and "Gruss aus" to the front. The style of the "Gruss aus" printing varies between the colours. Not all the cards carry the publisher’s name, but the art nouveau border and the printing allow the unmarked ones to be ascribed to F. Jocham. One card has been seen with the "green design" in red.

There is an overlap of the designs on cards published by J.A.Ott and F. Jocham. Also, the slightly later dates of the F. Jocham cards could imply that there was some association between the two publishers. Perhaps, F. Jocham acquired the designs of J.A.Ott, or that the companies amalgamated, or one changed its name. It could just be that they sourced the silk panels from the same manufacturer. We will never know.

A. Duroldt, Plauen, Saxony

Only one card is known from this publisher, dated 2nd July 1906. It is printed "Gruss aus Plauen" and shown below left. The card describes Plauen as the “Capital City of the Embroidery Industry”, but no other embroidered card has ever been seen from this place. The town’s main involvement was in the manufacture of lace and embroidery machinery, not embroidered products. Woven silk postcards have also been seen from this publisher.

J. Anderegg, Lichtensteig

Lichtensteig is a town in the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, a centre of embroidery in the period. A single card is known by this publisher with a design of a single edelweiss and foliage, dated 24^th November 1902. It is overprinted "Gruss aus dem Toggenburg" which is an Alpine region in the St. Gallen Canton.

M. Kochli-Baur, Sarmenstorf, Switzerland

Sarmensdorf is about 10 miles west of Zurich in the Aargau Canton. I have seen four cards by this publisher with a centrally placed diamond shaped frame, an elaborately lithograph printed Art Nouveau border and undivided backs. Two of them have shields for the Cantons of Aargau and Solothurn (about 60 miles west of Zurich), and cards were probably produced for other Cantons. Another card has the same border with a “Prosit Neujahr” embroidered caption and is dated 1^st January 1906.

Two cards have "M. Kochli-Baur, Stickerei, Sarmenstorf" printed on them. Stickerei is the German word for embroidery. So, it seems that they produced the embroidered panels as well as publishing the postcards – such is the complexity of unravelling these details where several processes were involved in the manufacture. The Solothurn card is also printed "Lith. Muller & Keiser, Dottikon" who must have been the producer of the elaborately lithographed frame.

It seems that Kochli-Baur were experimenting with differently shaped frames as three cards are also known with rectangular frames. They are included here as so few cards have ever been seen from this publisher. The card on the left has the Aagau Canton and Swiss shields. The vertical card has a design of carrots as Rubliland is a region in Switzerland renowned for growing carrots. The frames also have elaborate Art Nouveau designs with the same publisher and lithographer details as cards with diamond shaped frames.

E.S.W.

Nothing is known about this publisher and a single card is known. It has the same embroidered design as the J.A.Ott card shown above, but with a more elaborate printed border around the embroidered silk panel. It was sent from London to Paris. The postmark is indistinct, but the card has an undivided back dating it to between about 1903 and 1905.

J. Staeger, Bischofszell, Switzerland

A single card is known from this publisher with the printed caption "Gruss aus Bischofszell", which is in the Thurgau Canton. It is possible that this is where the company was based, but nothing else is known about it. The card is undated. The embroidered panel of forget-me-nots and foliage resembles many of the other designs, but has not been seen elsewhere.

Unknown Publishers

Five cards are known that give no indication of the publisher. One of them has the red heart and forget me nots design shown above, another has the chalet in a mountain scene, both of these were issued by Ulrich Egli but with different printed frames to the embroidered panels. None of the cards identify a publisher. Most of them have divided backs and must be later than about 1905, but only one is dated.

CARDS WITH NON-STANDARD RECTANGULAR FRAMES

This section covers cards from about 1903 to 1908 mainly with rectangular card frames that are wider than the standard of about 15 mm. that emerged by about 1908. Most of these cards have undivided backs and the small embroidered panels allowed space for the message that had to be on the front. With time, this space diminished as the embroidered silk panels increased in size, indicating the interest in the embroidery rather than the message. They are grouped according to their publishers, where known, or specific events covered by unknown publishers.

Johann Berchtold, Gotzis, Voralberg, Austria

Voralberg is the most western state of Austria, bordering Germany and Switzerland, the area associated with the embroidery industry at the start of the 20th Century. The Johann Berchtold company specialised in machine embroidered products and has an important place in the development of embroidered silk postcards. They were not proper postcards publishers but they issued a few cards between about 1902 and 1907. All the cards seen have undivided backs.

These two cards have a unique, quasi-rectangular shaped frame and are the only cards seen in this format. They have mirror-image embroidered designs of edelweiss, which were popular Swiss designs at the time. They date from 1902 and1905. Another card with a pink frame has also been seen, dated 1907. So, the cards, although extremely rare today, were available for several years.

The printed information at the bottom of the card appears to be offering embroidered products for any use and these cards may have been samples, although they are proper postcards and have been used as such. The translation of the information printed on the bottom of the card is something like: "Protected by law. Johann Berchtold, mechanical embroidery, Gotzis, Voralberg. Embroidery for every furnishing sent at factory prices from above company. Specimen (sent) postage free".

The two cards above have intrigued for many years. The embroidered fronts of the cards bear no similarities, but a thorough analysis of the printing on their backs, and a comparison with the definitive Johann Berchtold cards above, proves beyond doubt that they were made by Johann Berchtold, despite the totally different embroidered designs. They are both extremely rare cards and only ever seen once in over 50 years of collecting.

A few closely related cards are also known with a similar printed Art Nouveau design around the embroidered panel as the Dornbirn card and identical printed features on their undivided backs. The card with a diamond frame and rabbit design is dated 1907, whereas "GRUSSE!" is unused. A third card is also known with a vertical rectangular frame and an embroidered single edelweiss, dated 1906. The variation in the shapes of the frames indicates that all the cards from Johann Berchtold were experimental.

St Louis World’s Fair 1904

The formal name of this exhibition was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. It was held to commemorate the centennial of the purchase in 1803 when extensive land was sold to the United States by Napoleon to finance his military ambitions in Europe. The fair was held from April to December, 1904.

A series of embroidered silk postcards were issued showing some of the buildings within an elaborately printed frame. Six different designs are known and this could be the complete set as picture postcards at the time were often sold in packs of six. There is no indication of a publisher or origin on any of the cards, other than the printing in English. It is likely that they were made in the United States. Recent research has shown that the image of the Philippine Village at the Fair is identical to a design of a chalet originating from the Swiss based Buff & Mettler Company of Zurich. A full description of Buff & Mettler embroidered silk postcards can be found on this page: Early Cards Without a Frame.

Festival Associated Cards 1904 - 1905

Switzerland has a long association with festivals, exhibitions and sporting events. Many of those that took place in the early years of the 20th Century provided ideal opportunities for publishers of embroidered silk postcards to issue commemorative cards. Even though the events have long since been forgotten, they live on in some rare postcards. Several publishers were involved and the known ones are listed under their names below this section.

This section covers a range of cards from an unknown publisher who first emerged in 1904 and was fairly prolific. The frames of the cards went through various transformations, but they retained many similarities. There are also similarities in the embroidery and the designs, all of which allow us to consider them as a single group.

The festivals covered by this unknown publisher were all held in the northern part of Switzerland. This is the area at the forefront of developing machine embroidery in the 19th Century so that, by 1910, more than half of the worldwide production of embroidered products of all types originated from there. It is likely that the embroidered silk panels for early postcards were manufactured in this area and that the unknown publisher was also based there.

The earliest known embroidered silk postcards in this group were from the Swiss Federal Marksman's Festival, St. Gallen, 1904. St. Gallen is in the northeast of Switzerland and is a town and Canton and the cards are the first to mention the town by name. Five cards are known with the embroidered panel in the centre with a simple border, printed in blue adorned by floral designs. It is the design of this border that links many of the cards. The cards dated 1904 have undivided backs.

It appears that 1905 was the key year for this publisher as the output of cards increased to cover more festivals, to introduce general greetings cards and cards from other towns and cities. They also changed to the divided back, which was an innovation at the time, as the front of postcards became more important than the message, which moved to the address side. With time, the design of the frame changed, but retained features that allow us to assign this range of cards to the same unknown publisher. The latest card seen is dated 1910, after which cards of this type disappear.

The Swiss Federal Singer's Festival took place in Zurich during July 1905. A few cards were issued to commemorate the event using the same design for the border as the 1904 St Gallen Festival. From 4 - 11th August 1905, the Fete des Vignerons was held in Vevey, a town on Lake Geneva (known as Lac Leman in Switzerland). This coincided with the Fete Generale de Grutli, held in Lausanne from 4 - 7 August 1905, and a single card is known with the same printed border. A series of picture postcards is also known for these festivals.

One of the Fete des Vignerons cards has an identical embroidered design and an elaborate, embossed, art nouveau frame in brown, which expands the series of cards into more general greetings cards. These cards have frames in light green, olive green, brown and grey and date from 1905 to 1908. The silk panels in some of the greetings cards in this series are slightly smaller and have a gold-printed greeting. Ten cards of this type have been seen.

The two cards above have the same basic design for the frame around the embroidery, but the floral additions to the sides of the frames of the cards above them are replaced by an Art Nouveau design. Notice that the embroidered designs of the Fete cards are almost identical except for the badge and caption, that the embroidered design of "Souvenir au Lac Leman" is identical to that of "Gruss aus Zurich" shown above, and the characteristic design of the letter "n".

H. Dinkelacker, Altstatten, Switzerland

Altstatten is a small town in the St. Gallen Canton of Switzerland, close to the Austrian border, in the centre of the embroidery trade. The name: H. Dinkelacker has been seen overprinted to just a single card in a series of embroidered silk postcards, with the word "Verlag" the German word for publisher. The original series of these cards has the silk panel towards the top left of the card, surrounded by a simple Art Nouveau design and "Gruss aus" printed on the top right. All the embroidered captions end in a full stop. All the cards are vertical, most are made of thin, paper-like card, have undivided backs, and are printed "Postkarte" on the reverse.

The earliest card could be the commemorative for the Swiss Federal Marksman's Festival, St. Gallen, 1904 which was held in June/July, shown below. The card with an image of the Swiss rifleman probably also originated in the shooting festival, and is dated 11th August 1904. None of the eleven cards known from this original series (which I have designated Type 1) has been seen dated later than 1905.

Another series of cards can be attributed to H. Dinkelacker of Altstatten, which have a slightly different printed border around the embroidered panel. I call these Type 2 to aid reference. The first card known in the Type 2 Series is dated 1904, so the cards overlap the above original Type 1 series, and continue to at least 1912.

I attribute the Type 2 cards to this publisher because there are many similarities between them and the cards of the original series: the embroidered designs are identical on some of the cards and also end in a full stop; the embroidered panels are towards the top left; the printing on the address side is identical, except the word "Postkarte" is larger (but in identical script), and "Carte Postale" has been added to some.

In general, the cards with an embroidered caption in German have "Postkarte" printed on the back and those with a French caption have "Carte Postale" on the back, although some cards have both. The Art Nouveau design around the silk panel is similar but different to the original Type 1 series. The "Gruss aus" greeting printed on the front is not seen after March 1905. All of the cards seen have an undivided back, except one postmarked 1912. More cards were manufactured in the Type 2 series than in the original Type 1 series, and at least 37 different designs have been recorded.

The Royal Card Co. Chicago, United States

Many early embroidered silk postcards came from the United States. Little is known about the Royal Card Company in Chicago. They published a small range of embroidered silk greetings postcards from about 1907 to 1912, and they all have divided backs. the cards have some distinguishing features: they are all slightly narrower than standard at 3.25 inches; the silk panels are padded from behind with cotton wadding; and they all have coloured frames. It is likely that the embroidered silk panels were manufactured in France or Switzerland. Only five cards have been seen.

Ruff Brothers, Brooklyn, New York, United States

Ruff Brothers were prolific publishers of embroidered silk postcards in the period between about 1907 and 1912, although nothing is now known about them as a company. Their embroidered designs were elaborate, unique to them and probably sourced from France or Switzerland. A few of the earlier ones were padded with cotton wadding. The backs of the cards are printed "POST CARD", usually in capitals, and in a distinctive font. It is this feature that allows the cards to be assigned to the company as only three cards have been seen with the printed publisher information.

Many of the backs are printed "SPACE FOR CORRESPONDENCE" down the left-hand side. All the cards are made of quality card with a surface coating that gives it a slight lustre and "slippery" feel. Three different styles of cards are known that were published by Ruff Brothers and all were available at about the same time.

Type 1. They were one of the first companies to establish the frame around the embroidered silk panel at about 15mm. The frame was printed with a gold border, with a key-type pattern in the corners, sometimes with a chevron-style pattern along each side. Although these cards have the "standard" frame for embroidered silk postcards, they are shown here because they help to explain the Type 2 cards published by Ruff Brothers.

Type 2. These cards usually have a smaller embroidered silk panel within an centred frame. They are printed with a gold chevron-style pattern border that runs around the entire edge of the frame, with rounded corners and the same design as found on some Type 1 cards. Most of these cards have identical printing on the address side, and many are printed on the front: "This embroidery can be cut out and used in making pillow cases, etc." Many of the cards have embroidered silk panels whose design is based on the emblems of fraternal societies, who possibly approached the company to make the cards for them. A few greetings cards in this style have the full size silk embroidered panel.

There are a few similar cards that have the same postage details printed on the back, and use the same chevron border around the edge, but the embroidery is appliquéd to the card. One of these was issued as a souvenir of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration in New York in 1909. It has an undivided back, which is unusual for this date, and an additional chevron down the front of the card to make a space for the message.

Type 3. There are a few rare cards that were made for organisations that do not fit into the above Type 2 descriptions. It is highly likely that they were also produced by Ruff Brothers: they have the same "feel" as a Ruff Brothers card; some of the embroidered silk panels are identical to the Type 2 cards; and they have a border in a pattern of continuous gold leaves similar to the chevron pattern of Type 2 cards. However, the postal information printed on the back of the card is different. Only four cards are known in this category, and two of them have the same back with a simple lined pattern around the silk panel.

These Type 2 cards published by Ruff Brothers have the chevron-style border, which is in a similar design to that used in the Type 1 cards shown above them. The embroidered panel is central and usually smaller than the Type 1 cards. The printing on the address side is identical to the Type 1 cards.

Signer, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Nothing is known about this publisher and only six cards are known from them. Their presence in St. Gallen adds more weight to how the early manufacture of embroidered silk postcards was concentrated around the St. Gallen area of Switzerland in the early years of the twentieth century. Most of the cards known from this publisher have a large silk embroidered panel in an asymmetrical frame, with either a gold printed border around the panel, or a wood effect border. They were available from 1904 to about 1907.

E. Zullig & Cie, St. Gallen, Switzerland

This is another early publisher of embroidered silk postcards from the St. Gallen region in Switzerland. A single card is known from this publisher, issued to commemorate the Swiss Federal Marksman's Festival, St. Gallen, 1904. It has a unique design, and is shown below.

No other cards are known from this publisher until three years later when they issued a short series of embroidered silk postcards to commemorate the Swiss Federal Marksman's Festival, 1907, which was held in Zurich from 7th to 18th July. Four different embroidered designs are known with two differently designed frames, one in white printed with the full details of the festival, the other with an elaborate Art Nouveau design in blue and white, but no details of the publisher. They all have a smaller size, off-centre embroidered silk panel, undivided backs and identical postal details printed in green on the back.

The Illustrated Postcard Company, New York, United States

This company was a major producer of picture postcards between 1904 and 1914, and imported the cards from Germany. They specialised in town and city scenes, especially coloured views of New York. Their cards bear a distinctive logo of an eagle on a United States flag shield.

Two rare embroidered silk postcards have been identified from this company and more may exist. They have a unique gold embossed frame with an Art Nouveau floral design and divided backs. The embroidery is simple and the silk panels are padded with cotton wadding. The "Love" card shown below was posted in 1909.

Cards with Non-Standard Frames from Unknown Publishers

Several early embroidered silk postcards with non-standard rectangular frames are known and it is not possible to assign a publisher to them. There are sometimes similarities with known publishers, but nothing definitive. They are shown below, and others probably exist.

CARDS WITH STANDARD RECTANGULAR FRAMES

In about 1905, the postal rules were changed so that the message on a postcard could be written on the same side as the address. It took a couple of years before this change was introduced across the whole of the Postal Union worldwide. It was only when the message on the postcard was removed from the front that the definitive format of embroidered silk postcards emerged: an embroidered silk panel surrounded by a frame about 15 mm. wide.

As described above, Ruff Brothers of Brooklyn, New York were among the first to introduce this change, and other publishers in Europe were doing the same. Interestingly, none of the other earlier publishers were part of this change, whereas some of their early cards were still available. Embroidered silk postcards from 1908 to 1914 can often be seen on internet sales sites and in general collections of hearts and flowers cards, but it seems that nobody realises that they are early and, possibly, quite rare.

A. Schwidernoch, Deutsch-Wagram, Austria

Deutsch-Wagram is in Lower Austria, the north-east of the country, which is distant from the region where most early embroidered silk postcards originated: the area where Germany, Austria and Switzerland intersect. There seem to have been several postcard publishers at this time with the surname Schwidernoch in Austria and they may have been related. A. Schwidernoch published a wide range of picture postcards from as early as 1900, aimed at markets in Central and Eastern Europe.

The only embroidered silk postcard seen that is printed with the publisher's name is postmarked 1908 and was sent from St Kitts - Nevis in the Caribbean. This shows how widespread the cards were by this date. The other cards published by A. Schwidernoch have been attributed to them using the design of the postcards and the frames, the style of the embroidery, and the printing of the postal information on the back of the cards. Fortunately, many of the cards are printed on the back with the information "Marque H Depose", which means that the trademark "H" was registered in France. This probably corresponds to the time when the cards started to be sold in France.

The cards have several distinct features: some of the earlier cards have an Art Nouveau design in green and gold around the silk embroidered panel, and one of these has the publisher's name printed on it; the embroidery is in small, neat stitches typical of the type used in the early Swiss designs; almost every embroidered caption finishes with a full stop; most of the backing silks are coloured; the frames vary between about 17 and 20mm in width; and most of the insides of the frame have rounded corners. All the cards have divided backs and seem to have been available between about 1905 and 1912. A couple of cards have been seen that have a larger frame surrounding a smaller, central embroidered silk panel, and these seem to have been aimed at the English speaking market. A few cards are known with embroidered Spanish greetings and were sent from as far away as Chile in 1906.

Most of the cards have floral designs and simple embroidered greetings, but cards are known for several French cities and French speaking Montreal. Interestingly, no cards have been seen for Austrian or Swiss cities, which suggests that these cards were mainly produced for export, especially to France. In total, 39 different cards have been seen from this publisher.

L. E. Lyon, France

L.E. were publishers of picture postcards in Lyon in the early years of the Twentieth Century. They were prolific publishers of embroidered silk postcards from about 1908 to 1918. Little is known about the publisher as a business but all their cards are marked either with the initials LEL arranged in an inverted triangle or a logo of a rampant lion holding a shield, with the LE over L on the shield. This is probably based on the city of Lyon coat of arms. Both the initials and the logo seem to have been used at the same time.

The embroidered designs on L.E. cards range from simple floral designs to complex designs of buildings and structures. A feature shared by nearly all the cards is the coloured frame, often shaded paler at the edge surrounding the embroidered panel. The most common colours used are pink, pale purple, pale blue and apricot. They are often found among hearts and flower collections, without collectors realising that they are relatively rare and some precede 1914 by many years. A total of 62 different designs have been recorded for L.E. embroidered silk postcards and more keep turning up.

The elaborate embroidered designs include the Eiffel Tower for cards from Paris; fish for cards for 1st April; the French cockerel; a bicycle; a biplane; a Viking longboat; and images of cathedrals. From the early days of production, they introduced variety into the design of the frames to include fan and oval shapes with an elaborate Art Nouveau border. There was also a range of smaller rectangular shapes with a printed greeting on the frame, but no caption on the embroidered silk panel.

J. T. France

There is no information on this French publisher of embroidered silk postcards. They were in business from about 1910 until at least 1922, as cards with embroidered dates are known for these years. The company was never a prolific producer, but they had a steady output over the years. Most of the cards have a logo of a dark sepia coloured pansy with the letters JT in the top of the flower and "Marque Depose" beneath the flower. The logo was in use as early as 1913, but many of the early cards have no indication of the publisher. These cards can be identified from the consistent layout and style of the printing on the back of the card, which was usually in the same dark sepia colour of the logo.

The frames on the fronts of the cards are remarkably consistent: they always have a raised line across each of the four corners, and around the embroidered silk panel; many of the frames have an embossed "pebbledash" effect, both random and in lines; some have a lined, but broken, pebbledash effect and others have a "crazy-paving" effect. One of their cards is the first known that has an envelope front in the embroidered silk panel to accommodate a small printed greetings card. It is dated 1912 and it is possible that J.T. introduced this variation, which was then taken up widely and became a standard feature of many embroidered silk postcards.

The company was in business throughout the First World War and produced a few patriotic cards with designs based on the flags of the Allies in the early days of the war. Their logo then almost disappeared until about 1918, but I have 25 cards marked with their logo in my collection from the First World War period. There are many other patriotic and hearts and flowers embroidered silk postcards that have similar printed designs and frames to those known for J.T. and they probably produced them, but there is no definitive proof. It is also highly likely that many cards printed "Depose" down the centre of the back were published by J.T.

Most of the cards illustrated below come from the period 1912 to 1914. I have included the patriotic and 1922 cards to show the breadth of the output of J.T.

L & R (probably United States)

Nothing is known about this publisher, except that their initials are to be found in a rectangular lozenge on a few cards in a short series of embroidered silk postcards that date from 1910 to about 1914. All the captions are in English and the series includes a few towns in the United States. The backs of the cards are all printed "SWITZERLAND". This implies that the cards were made there, but it could just have been the source of the embroidered panels. Most of the cards have the same frame: a raised line in each of the corners and around the embroidered silk panels; and a design of rows of raised dots.

O. & D. Eugster, Fourth Avenue, New York, United States

Nothing is known about this importer and distributor of embroidered silk postcards, despite their large premises from 239 to 243 Fourth Avenue in New York. Six cards are known from about 1912 to 1914. They all have the same printed information on the back and are printed with "MADE IN SWITZERLAND" down the left side. The frames are all identical with a raised line across each of the four corners, and around the embroidered silk panel, and an embossed "pebbledash" effect. These are the same features of the J.T. cards described above and it is possible that this company supplied the cards for O. & D. Eugster to distribute.

P. Martel, Lyon, France

P. Martel was a publisher of picture postcards in the early years of the Twentieth Century, usually with just the initials P.M. printed on the back of the card. They were mainly of Lyon and the surrounding district. Three embroidered silk postcards are known that were issued by the publisher, dated between 1904 and 1909, which suggests that many more cards were made over the period. They have a distinctive look with a mottled blue/green frame with an overprinted black line. These cards could be the earliest embroidered silk postcards manufactured in France, which became the main source of cards during the First World War. Two cards are shown below.

J. Boiron, Tarare, France

There is no information on this publisher. The town of Tarare in France is known for the manufacture of embroidered panels for postcards, and embroidered silk postcards were being produced from there until after the Second World War. A single card is known from this publisher, with others that may be attributed.

D. G. Lyon, France

Absolutely nothing is known about this publisher other than they were based in Lyon. Two embroidered silk postcards are known. They have a frame, but not of the usual style, which is a gold embossed, cut-out design. A couple of similar cards have been seen, but none that can be attributed to D.G. Both of the cards shown below are dated 1913, have Arabic writing and the flags of either France or Spain, which indicates that they are from Morocco. The Arabic style flag, however is not the flag of Morocco. I cannot translate the Arabic but both have the same script, perhaps it stands for Fez a major town in Morocco.

Early Cards from Unknown Publishers

There are a few cards that it is not possible to assign to any publisher, but any of them could be one of the publishers described above.

LINKS TO OTHER PAGES ON THE WEBSITE

HOME

Information Latest Research

Early (Pre-1914) Embroidered Silk Postcards Early Cards Without a Frame Early Cards With an Embroidered Motif

Card Listings Early (Pre-1914) Cards Early Cards With a Frame